Thanks txnativegop.
Posted on 08/31/2020 6:41:56 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Two battle axes used in hand-to-hand fighting at the Battle of Grunwald over 600 years ago have been found by detectorists during a sweep of the famous battle site in northern Poland.
The find, which has astonished archaeologists, is all the more important as the melee weapons are in remarkably good condition.
According to Dr. Szymon Dreja, director of the Museum of the Battle of Grunwald, the discovery of the battle axes are an archaeological sensation.
"In seven years of our archaeological research we have never had such an exciting, important and well-preserved find," he stressed.
According to the director, there is little doubt that the axes come from what many historians say was the largest battle of the middle ages in Europe.
"The context of these finds, the preliminary dating to the fifteenth century and the type of axes clearly indicate that they are directly related to the Battle of Grunwald of July 15, 1410," he said.
The Battle of Grunwald was fought in 1410 and saw the joint forces of Poland and Lithuania defeat the Knights of the Teutonic Order.
Over 50,000 knights, gunners and infantry clashed on the fields near the village of Grunwald in what was possibly the biggest battle of medieval Europe.
The battle marked the end of the order's expansion along the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea and the beginning of the decline of its power. It also marked the emergence of Poland-Lithuania as one of Europe's most powerful states.
(Excerpt) Read more at thefirstnews.com ...
Thanks txnativegop.
Old Battle Axes? Hillary and pelosi were there?
Must have been very painful injuries with these weapons.
The photo of the battle axe heads found (in the link) look just like tomahawk heads used in the 1750s French & Indian War and the American Revolution in the 1770s & ‘80s.
Very cool! Thanks for posting that!
Good think I had swallowed my adult beverage before I read your reply! Lol
It wasn’t just the injuries, it was the infections that followed. Nasty, purulent, horrifying plagues that result from contact with those disgusting creatures...
For sale: the axe George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree. Handle replaced in 1752, head replaced in 1761. Certified authentic.
The head is just like the one I use for Mountain Men meetings and competitions. Amazing.
Definitely on my To Do List my next trip to Poland.
Do you shoot flintlocks like I do?
The southern Baltic coastline was an amazingly wealthy area at the time due to the huge volume of sea trade. From Wiki:
The defeat of the Teutonic Knights was resounding. According to Teutonic payroll records, only 1,427 men reported back to Marienburg to claim their pay. Of 1,200 men sent from Danzig, only 300 returned. Between 203 and 211 brothers of the Order were killed, out of 270 that participated in battle, including much of the Teutonic leadership.I might have a personal connection, too. My grandmother's family is from Danzig and Marienburg and I've traced them back to the late 1700s. I wonder if any of them were involved in the battle 370 years earlier.
Disgusting creatures? hillary and pelosi or the infected warriors?
I did not even think of the infections.
I do not know enough about medicine at the time to know if they understood gangrene and the need to amputate.
And yes, the infections would have spread like wildfire.
Wow
There was also the Hanseatic League, which was a cooperative venture organized by northern German city-states, persisting for about 400 years, ending for all practical purposes due to the Thirty Years' War.
My pleasure.
How do they know these were actually used in hand to hand fighting? Do they have an eye witness?
Good design is timeless.
Form follows function and they shared a common function.
The oldest documented mention of Krantor (Zuraw) as a wooden port crane was in 1367. What you see today, however, was reconstructed in the middle of the 15th century after a devastating fire devoured the original structure. The large crane was used to place masts on ships and to load cargo.
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